Uncategorized

This week, the House is in recess, and the Senate voted on an amended version of the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644).  The chamber also voted on the confirmation of administration nominees and attempted to move the House-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill.Senate Party Ratios:  Last week, President Trump fired Kristi Noem as…

Last week, both chambers of Congress rejected War Powers resolutions aimed at limiting the President’s use of military force in Iran. In the House, a resolution (H. Con. Res. 38) introduced by Rep. Massie (R-KY) was defeated 212-219. The measure would have required the President to end U.S. troop deployments in hostilities against Iran or…

House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) reportedly told members last week that he plans to pursue another partisan tax and spending bill through the budget reconciliation process. However, several members of his leadership team, along with many rank-and-file Republicans in both chambers, remain skeptical that the party can reach consensus on the package’s contents. Complicating matters, the…

The Department of Homeland Security has been without funding for 24 days, and there appears to be little progress toward a compromise. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) continues to push the House-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill, but it has yet to secure the 60 votes needed to advance to debate and a floor vote.…

Congress was in session this week. The House considered two bills out of the Judiciary Committee:  the Deporting Fraudsters Act (H.R. 1958), which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify that aliens who  have been convicted of defrauding the U.S. Government or unlawful receipt of public benefits are inadmissible and deportable; and the…

This week, Democrats pushed for a vote on War Powers resolutions in both the House and Senate.  The 1973 War Powers Resolution allows members of Congress to either approve or oppose the use of U.S. armed forces abroad. It also sets special rules for considering these measures. War Powers resolutions can be introduced as a…

Last week, during his State of the Union address, President Trump told Congress that he would not seek new legislation to implement additional tariffs, following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). He claimed that he still has “time-tested and approved” authority to issue tariffs under…

Last week, Senate Republican leaders attempted to bring up the FY 2026 Homeland Security appropriations bill, along with a resolution to fund the agency and its programs at FY 2025 levels for the remainder of the fiscal year. However, initial procedural votes failed to gain enough support to move forward with consideration of the measures.…

The Senate voted on a procedural motion to advance the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644). Following that, the Senate considered a substitute amendment, likely based on its own housing bill, the ROAD to Housing Act (S. 2651). The Senate passed its bill as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act…

In his State of the Union address last week, President Trump did not propose many new tax or spending measures. However, he did call for legislation that is unlikely to pass with bipartisan support, including the healthcare package he unveiled on January 15.  Both Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson have warned that it will be…